Ghali: “I know why I could no longer sing the Italian anthem”

Ghali: “I know why I could no longer sing the Italian anthem”

ByJohn

The countdown is now over. The inauguration ceremony of the Olympic Games, one of the most anticipated events of recent years, will take place on Friday 6 February at the San Siro stadium in Milan. A show which, according to the intentions of the institutions, will have to speak to the whole world. “I expect a universal show, with a language of communion and representation of the best”, declared the Minister for Sport and Youth Andrea Abodi, speaking at Non Stop News on Rtl 102.5. “We will try to take inspiration from what we represent on a global level. There is not only commitment, but passion and a long wait for years of work. At the center of the show there will be both athletes and spectators: two million present and another two billion connected from all over the world”. The ceremony, curated by Marco Balich, will see the participation of Italian and international pop stars, from Mariah Carey to Laura Pausini, passing through Andrea Bocelli and Ghali. The very presence of the 32-year-old Milanese rapper and singer-songwriter sparked the debate in the days preceding the event.

Ghali had already ended up at the center of controversy in 2024, when from the stage of the Sanremo Festival he spoke openly about “genocide in Gaza”, asking for a “stop”. A stance that contributed to making his performance at San Siro particularly observed and discussed. In recent days, Abodi wanted to clarify the limits of the artist’s intervention: “He will sing and say the things agreed with the organizers. This will not be the stage of just any concert, but a place where everyone will respect the rules.” Words that for many sounded like a preventive distancing, for others like a real form of censorship. On the eve of the inauguration, after days of silence, Ghali chose to intervene publicly, entrusting his thoughts to a post. Here it is below:

To everyone

I know.
I know when an entry is accepted.
I know when it’s corrected.
I know when it becomes too much.
I know why they want someone like me.
I also know why they wouldn’t want me.
I know why they invited me.
I also know why I couldn’t sing anymore
the anthem of Italy.
I know why they asked me to recite a poem
on peace.
I know it could have contained more than one language.
I know one language, Arabic, at last
it was too much.
I know that my thoughts cannot be expressed.
I also know that my silence makes noise.
I know it’s all great theatre.

Ghali

John
John

With an untamed passion and deep, eclectic knowledge of music, John is the soul of RadioWise UK. Having worked in the music industry for over two decades, his vision was to create a platform that embodies the love and respect for music. John is known for his great attention to detail and insatiable thirst for discovering new talents and music genres.